Category: Other
British central bank urges reform
LONDON, October 28, 2008 (AFP) – Britain’s central bank urged new constraints on banks Tuesday to avoid a repeat of the financial crisis, saying there needed to be a “fundamental rethink” of how the institutions manage risk. The Bank of England warned banks had overextended themselves during the economic boom years, lending out more than […]
Fed may cut rates again after meeting: analysts
WASHINGTON, October 28, 2008 (AFP) – The Federal Reserve opens a two-day meeting Tuesday widely expected to cut key interest rates further as part of an unrelenting effort by the central bank to restore confidence to battered markets. The US central bank, which led a coordinated global rate cut earlier this month that pushed its […]
Euro US dollar parity to 1.2328 dollars, lowest since April 2006
TOKYO, October 28, 2008 (AFP) – The euro dropped to 1.2328 dollars in Asian trade on Tuesday, the lowest level since April 2006, pressured by growing fears of recession in Europe. The euro later recovered slightly to 1.2357 dollars, still sharply lower compared with its level of 1.2520 dollars in New York overnight.Worries about the […]
Staff at top Asian brokerage asked to cut pay to avoid job losses
HONG KONG, October 28, 2008 (AFP) – Hundreds of senior staff at one of Asia’s top brokerages, CLSA, have been asked to take a pay cut of up to 25 percent in a bid to avoid redundancies, a spokeswoman said Tuesday.A total of 500 senior brokers, analysts and managers at the Asian brokerage unit of […]
Wal-Mart pulls eggs from China stores
BEIJING, October 28, 2008 (AFP) – Wal-Mart said Tuesday it had pulled a major brand of eggs from its stores in China, as concerns rose that an industrial chemical found in Chinese dairy products was in the nation’s wider food chain.The announcement by the US retail giant came after authorities in Hong Kong said eggs […]
Maldives votes in presidential run-off
MALE, October 28, 2008 (AFP) – Voting got under way in the Maldives on Tuesday to choose the country’s first-ever democratically elected president in a run-off between Asia’s longest serving leader and a former political prisoner. Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, the 71-year-old incumbent, faces his toughest critic Mohamed “Anni” Nasheed, 41, after failing to win an […]
Sri Lanka government to buy tea to support prices
Oct 27, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s state-run tea promotion and regulatory body will buy large stocks of tea at auctions in Colombo this week, in a bid to support prices, government officials and brokers said.
Maldives set for run-off to rule the islands
MALE, October 27, 2008 (AFP) – The first-ever democratic presidential battle in the Maldives goes to a second round Tuesday, with Asia’s longest serving leader facing his most outspoken critic, a former political prisoner. Elections three weeks ago produced no clear winner after Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who has run the Indian Ocean archipelago unchallenged for […]
Sri Lanka mulls emergency loans to get tea auction moving
Oct 26, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s government will guarantee loans from banks to the tea trade to revive the Colombo auctions where prices have plunged and half the teas remained unsold this week, industry officials said.The industry was also considering extending the time limit for settling cash payments for the sale of tea don […]
Sri Lanka small holders hit by credit crunch as prices collapse
Oct 25, 2008 (LBO) – In Sri Lanka’s deep south, small tea farmers are feeling the pinch from a collapsing commodity bubble, as a worldwide meldown of financial and asset prices gathers momentum on a long expected deflationary collapse. The brokers are running a sophisticated finance business, managing the risk of independent factories and effectively […]
Sri Lanka tries to limit tea production to stop price plunge
Oct 24, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka’s Tea Board Friday said it was advising producers to manufacture only good quality tea and reduce output in an effort to stabilise prices which have crashed in recent weeks.About half the volume of low grown teas remained unsold at the auction this week, creating cash flow problems for […]
Sri Lanka small tea farmers to get fertilizer subsidy
Oct 23, 2008 (LBO) – Sri Lanka is offering a fertilizer subsidy to small tea farmers three times a year, at a cost of 4.7 billion rupees a year, officials said, while Colombo tea prices slid on a commodity bubble collapse. Sri Lanka’s populist vote-buying subsidies have been blamed for the large budget deficits in […]